Trade, employment, and labour standards : a study of core workers' rights and international trade

254 Pages·1996·6.5 MB·English

by  Deléchat, Corinne

Trade, Employment
and Labour
Standards
A Study cf Core
Workers’ Rights
and International Trade
ORGANISATIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERATIONANDDEVELOPMENT
ORGANISATIONFORECONOMICCO-OPERATION
ANDDEVELOPMENT
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Co-operationandDevelopment(OECD)shallpromotepoliciesdesigned:
-toachievethehighestsustainableeconomicgrowthandemploymentandarising
standardcflivinginMembercountries,whilemaintainingfinancialstability,and
thustocontributetothedevelopmentoftheworldeconomy:
-tocontributetosoundeconomicexpansioninMemberaswellasnon-member
countriesintheprocessofeconomicdevelopment:and
-tocontributetotheexpansionofworldtradeonamultilateral,non-discriminatory
basisinaccordancewithinternationalobligations.
TheoriginalMembercountries oftheOECDareAustria,Belgium,Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the
UnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStates.ThefollowingcountriesbecameMemberssubse-
quentlythroughaccessionatthedatesindicatedhereafter:Japan(28thApril 1964),
Finland(28thJanuary1969),Australia(7thJune1971),NewZealand(29thMay1973),
Mexico(18thMay 1994),theCzechRepublic(21stDecember 1995)andHungary
(t7htehOMEaCyD19(9A6r)t.icTlhee1C3oomfmithsesiOoEnCoDftChoenEvuernotipoena)n.Communitiestakespartintheworkof
LECOMMERCE,PuLbl’iEeMePnLfOrIan9EaTisLsEoSusN1eORtitMreES:DUTRAVAIL
Unegtudesurlesdroitsfondamentauxdestravailleursetrechangeinternational
©OECD1996
Applicationsforpermissiontoreproduceortranslateallorpartofthis
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FOREWORD
This studyhas beenpreparedinresponse to arequest giventothe
OrganisationbyOECDMinisterstoundertakeananalysisofareaswherefurther
progresswithliberalisationandthestrengtheningofthemultilateralsystemmay
be required. One such area was trade, employment and internationally
recognisedlabourstandards,includingbasicconcepts,empiricalevidenceon
tradeandinvestmentpatterns,andcurrentmechanismsforpromotinghigher
labourstandardsworld-wide.
ThestudybeginswithaReportagreedbythetwoOECDCommittees
whichoversawthework,i.e.theEmployment,Labourand SocialAffairs
CommitteeandtheTradeCommittee. TheagreedReportreflectsthefindings
ofadetailedanalyticalreportoftheOECDSecretariataswellasextensive
discussionsbythetwoCommitteesandotherCommitteesinvolvedinthework,
notablytheCommitteeonInvestmentandMultinationalEnterprises. The
Secretariat'sanalyticalreportitselfispresentedaftertheagreedReportandis
publishedundertheresponsibilityoftheSecretary-GeneraloftheOECD.
ThisreportwaspreparedbyCorinneDelechat,MariarosaLunati,Anne
RichardsandRaymondTorres,withspecificcontributionsfromRolfAlter,
StephanieBade,CrawfordFalconer,EvdokiaMoise,NicholasVanstonand
CraigVanGrasstek,underthegeneralsupervisionofJohnMartinandJacques
deMiramon.
3

3
CONTENTS
Foreword ... ...
Abbreviations 2
JointReportonTrade,EmploymentandLabourStandards
bytheEmployment,LabourandSocialAffairsCommittee
andtheTradeCommitteeoftheOECD 9
Selectionofcorelabourstandardsandtheirimplementation., 10
Linksbetweencorelabourstandards,trade,economic
developmentandemployment 11
Mechanismstopromotecorelabourstandardsworld-wide 14
Introduction 21
PARTI 21
LABOURSTANDARDSTNOECDANDSELECTED
NON-OECDCOUNTRIES
Selectionofcorelabourstandards 25
ILQConventions 28
UNprovisionsonworkers’rights 38
Observanceofcorelabourstandardsiiiselectedcountries 39
Notes 21
PARTII 75
POSSIBLELINKSBETWEENCORELABOUR
STANDARDS,TRADE,FOREIGNDIRECT
INVESTMENT,ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT
ANDEMPLOYMENT
Economicpropertiesofcorelabourstandards 22
Corelabourstandardsandtradeperformance 88
Corelabourstandardsandtradeliberalisation
Corelabourstandardsandforeigndirectinvestment i'b'a
Trade,employmentandwages
5
Notes. 145
PARTIH 149
MECHANISMSTOPROMOTE
CORELABOURSTANDARDSWORLD-WIDE
AnoverviewoftheILOmonitoringsystem 154
Thecontributionofdevelopmentco-operationprogrammes 161
Proposedmechanismsininternationalorganisations 169
Regionalandunilateralgovernmentactions 178
Internationalstandardsfortheconductoffirms 190
Private-partymechanisms 199
AnalyticalAppendix 215
CoreLabourStandards,EconomicEfficiencyandTrade
Annex... 233
MethodsAppliedinPartII,“Corelabourstandards
andtradeliberalisation”
IndexofcompliancewithTLOConventions87and98 233
Indicatorsoftradeliberalisation.. 236
References ... 239
6
ABBREVIATIONS
AFL-CIO AmericanFederationofLaborandCongressofIndustrial
Organizations
BIAC BusinessandIndustryAdvisoryCommitteetotheOECD
BICE BureauInternationalCatholiquedel’Enfance
CEACR CommitteeofExpertsontheApplicationofConventionsand
Recommendations(ILO)
CEDC ProgrammeonChildreninEspeciallyDifficultCircumstances
CFA CommitteeonFreedomofAssociation(ILO)
CIME CommitteeonInternationalInvestmentandMultinationalEnterprises
(OECD)
CWIN ChildWorkersinNepalConcernedCenter
DAC DevelopmentAssistanceCommittee(OECD)
DNME dynamicnonmembereconomy
EBRD EuropeanBankforReconstructionandDevelopment
EC EuropeanCommunity
EPZ export-processingzone
EU EuropeanUnion
FDI foreigndirectinvestment
GATT GeneralAgreementonTariffsandTrade
GDP grossdomesticproduct
GSP GeneralisedSystemofPreferences
ILC ConferenceCommitteeontheApplicationofConventionsand
Recommendations(ILO)
ILO InternationalLabourOrganisation
ILRERF InternationalLabourRightsEducationandResearchFund
IMF InternationalMonetaryFund
10 input/output
7
1PEC InternationalProgrammeontheEliminationofChildLabour(ILO)
ISO InternationalOrganisationforStandardisation
rro InternationalTradeOrganisation
MFN most-favourednation
MNE multinationalenterprise
MOU memorandumofunderstanding
NAALC NorthAmericanAgreementonLaborCooperation
NAFI'A NorthAmericanFreeTradeAgreement
NAO NationalAdministrativeOffice
NBER NationalBureauforEconomicResearch
NGO non-govemmentalorganisation
QRs quantitativerestrictions
srrc StandardInternationalTradeClassification
SRI sociallyresponsibleinvesting
TPRM TradePolicyReviewMechanism(WTO)
TUAC TradeUnionAdvisoryCommitteetotheOECD
UN UnitedNations
UNCTAD UnitedNationsConferenceonTradeandDevelopment
UNESCO UnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganisation
UNICEF UnitedNationsInternationalChildren'sEmergencyFund
USITC UnitedStatesInternationalTradeCommission
USTR USTradeRepresentative
WTO WorldTradeOrganisation
8
JOINTREPORTONTRADE,EMPLOYMENT
ANDLABOURSTANDARDS
(bytheEmployment,LabourandSocialAffairsCommittee
andtheTradeCommitteecftheOECD)
SincetheendoftheUruguayRound, theissue oftradeandlabour
standardshascometotheforefrontofthepolicyagenda. Theprotractedrisein
unemploymentinmanyOECDcountriesandin wageinequalityin some
countrieshasledsomeobserverstolookforexternalexplanations,including
claimsofunfairtradepracticesassociatedwithcompetitionfromfirmsthat
allegedlybasetheircomparativeadvantageonlowlabourstandards. Thisview
ischallengedbythosewhoseeinternalstructuralrigiditiesasthekeyfactor
behind unemployment and growing wage inequality and who claim that
differencesinlabourstandardsdonothaveanysignificantimpactontradeflows
orforeigndirectinvestment.
Thedebatehasfocusedonthehumanrightsdimensionofcertainlabour
standards.Itisarguedthatsomelabourstandardsreflectbasichumanrightsand
thatallcountriesintheworldshouldthereforeadheretothesestandards.Claims
arealsomadethati)thoselabourstandardsthatembodybasichumanrightscan
stimulateeconomicdevelopmentandarethereforeintheinterestofallworkers
(andcountries)intheworld;andii)observanceoftheselabourstandardscould
neutraliseprotectionistpressures,thussecuringsupportforfreehade.
However,therearesignificantdifferencesofopiniononhowsuchlabour
standardscanbepromoted. Sometaketheviewthattheinternationalcommunity
shouldexertpressureonthosecountriesthatdonotobservethesestandards,with
thepossibilityoftradesanctionsasalastresort.Othersremainunconvincedthat
new internationalpromotionmechanisms arerequired, in addition to those
availableintheInternationalLabourOrganisation(ILO), andfearthatthe
defenceofhumanrightswouldbecapturedbyprotectionistinterests. More
fundamentally,theissuearisesastowhethereconomicdevelopment(associated,
forexample,withtradeliberalisation)willgraduallyimprovelabourstandards,or
whetheradditionalactions(forexample,throughtheimpositionofconditionality
criteriaininternationaltradeagreements)areneeded.
9
InJune 1994,MinistersinvitedtheOECD Secretariattoundertakean
analysisof“areaswherefurtherprogresswithliberalisationandthestrengthening
ofthemultilateralsystemmayberequired”. Theseareasincluded“trade,
employmentandinternationallyrecognisedlabourstandards,includingbasic
concepts, empirical evidence in trade and investmentpatterns, and current
mechanismsCorpromotinghigherlabourstandardsworld-wide”. Respondingto
thismandate,theTradeCommitteeandtheEmployment,LabourandSocial
AffairsCommitteebeganjointlyananalyticalprogrammetoexamine these
issues, in close co-operationwith otherrelevant OECD Committees and
Directoratesaswellasotherinternationalorganisations,inparticulartheILO.
Theattachedstudyistheresultofthisexercise.Itspurposeistoshedsomelight
ontheanalyticalaspectsofthisissue,whilealsoevaluatingmechanismsto
promotecorelabourstandardsworld-wide.
Selectionofcorelabourstandardsandtheirimplementation
Thedebateontradeandlabourstandardshasbeenmademorecomplex
becauseofalackofagreementonalistofthelabourstandardsthatarerelevant
tothisissueandtheirdefinition. EfeatIofthestudyidentifiesasmallsetof
labourstandards,termed“core”forthepurposesofthestudy,whicharewidely
recognised to be of particular importance: elimination of child labour
exploitation,prohibitionofforcedlabour,freedomofassociation,therightto
organiseandbargaincollectively,andnon-discriminationinemployment.
Thechoiceoftheselabourstandardsisbasedprimarilyonthefactthatthey
embody importanthuman rights and that they derive from the Universal
DeclarationofHumanRights. Theuniversalityofthesebasiclabourrightshas
beenhighlightedintheconclusionsoftherecentWorldSocialSummit. In
addition,threeUnitedNationsacts(theCovenantonEconomic,Socialand
CulturalRights,theCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRightsandtheConventionon
theRightsoftheChild),whichcontainrelativelydetailedprovisionsoncore
labourstandards,havebeenratifiedbyover120countries,suggestingthatthese
standardsreceivenear-universaladherence. Itisalsoimportanttonotethatall
countrieswhicharemembersoftheILOsubscribetotheprinciplesoffreedomof
associationandcollectivebargainingbyvirtueoftheirmembership.
CertainILOConventionsprovideforinternationallynegotiateddefinitionsof
corestandards:Conventions87and98providedetailedprovisionsonfreedomof
association,therighttoorganiseandcollectivebargaining; Conventions29and
105establishtheprohibitionofallformsofforcedlabour: andConvention111
10